
Obituary for Major DRF Houlton-Hart MC ERD
Major Darby Robert Follett Houlton-Hart MC ERD who has died at the aged 90, was awarded an MC in 1940 and the ERD in 1951, both while serving with The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment.
He was born in 1941 in Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia; his father had lived and worked in Australia for many years. He was educated in Australia and, on the return of the family to England in 1934, he attended Allhallows School, Lyme Regis, Dorset. Whilst at Allhallows he was a House Prefect, a member of the Cross Country Team and part of the 1937 Shooting 8 at Bisley, taking part in the Ashburton Shield and winning the Oag Cup, Donegal Medal and Taylor Cup. He was also a member of the School of Officer Training Corps.
On leaving school in 1938, he was granted a Commission in the Supplementary Reserve of Officers, joining the 2nd Battalion The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, then based in Portland. In September 1939, on the outbreak of war, the Battalion sailed for France as part of the 19th Infantry Brigade. They were heavily involved in the advance into Belgium after Hitler invaded France and Belgium in May 1940. Darby served as OC 13 Platoon C Company under the OC, Major Boxer.
It was during the Dunkirk Campaign that he won the Military Cross. It was when the Lincolns were ordered to counter attack the left flank at Zuydershoot, following the collapse in the line, to slow the Germans down to allow more troops to reach Dunkirk.
His Citation read: On the afternoon of the 28th May 1940, 2/Lieut Hart led his Platoon in a local counter-attack in order to fill a gap into which the enemy were infiltrating. In the face of heavy shell and mortar fire, and despite heavy casualties in his Platoon, 2/Lieut Hart by his coolness and courage and the skill with which he handled his Bren Guns, succeeded in driving the enemy out, re-establishing the line and holding it until the Battalion was ordered to withdraw. He left Dunkirk on HMS Erebus on the 1st June 1940 and a short time later he was presented with the Military Cross by King George 6th at Buckingham Palace. This was the first Investiture of the 2nd World War.
As a Lieutenant he then served with HQ 19th Infantry Brigade as a Liaison Officer. In 1942 he was promoted to Captain and served as a Rifle Company 2ic. On 6th June 1944 as 2ic A Company, he entered Europe as part of the D-Day landings, consequently being wounded in action on the 7th June. Following a period of recuperation, he rejoined the Regiment in Holland as 2ic and was promoted to Major as OC D Company. As OC he led the Company in the crossing of the River Aal with the Regiment, ending up on VE Day in Lengerich, Germany. The Battalion then moved to Belgium and were due to go to the United States to undergo training. However, due to the Japanese surrender in August 1945, this did not happen and in October of that year the Battalion moved to the Middle East. In 1947, for action in Palestine, he was Mentioned in Despatches.
In 1948 he left the Army and studied Agriculture at the Northamptonshire Institute of Agriculture, re-joining the Supplementary Reserve of Officers.
Following this two year period of study, Darby was recalled to Arms in 1950, granted a Regular Commission in 1951 and posted to the Middle East until 1952. It was during this period that he was awarded the Emergency Reserve Decoration.
1952 to 1959 saw service with the Battalion in Germany, as Adjutant of the Bermuda Rifles and Secretary the Local Forces Board in Bermuda, as Company Commander with The Royal Lincolns in Malaya, Ipoh and Singapore and attached to the Royal Military Police as a RMP Company Commander, based in Edinburgh.
Prior to the amalgamation of the Regiments, Darby transferred to the Royal Military Police, serving in Germany and in England until 1970, when he resigned his Commission. He was present, in Germany, on 13th August 1961 when the Berlin Wall was erected.
For the next 8 years, until his retirement, he worked for the National Savings in Watford.
In retirement he was a member of the Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk War Pensions Committee and Appeals Organiser for the Bury St Edmunds Branch of the Suffolk Red Cross; he was made Honorary Vice President and was also awarded the Red Cross Badge of Honour.
His Grandson follows on the military tradition, being a Captain in the 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles, having just returned from his second tour in Afghanistan.
Major Houlton-Hart died on 6 July 2010. He married Pauline Pearce in 1949. She predeceased him in January 2010 and he is survived by their son, two daughters and his sister.